The present invention relates as indicated to annealing lehrs of the type in which glassware or other articles formed of glass are passed continuously through the lehr on an endless belt for annealing the ware. In the lehr, the ware is heated above the annealing temperature of the ware and gradually reduced in temperature during subsequent travel through the lehr.
Annealing lehrs of the type here concerned typically comprise a series of heating sections followed by a series of cooling sections for initially heating and subsequently cooling the ware below the strain point of the ware and to a temperature to permit handling of the ware as it is discharged from the lehr. Each heating and cooling section is independently controlled as to temperature, with this feature being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,596, granted July 19, 1966 to Edward W. Bowman. The present invention constitutes an improvement of the lehr disclosed in such patent and contains several advantageous features when compared therewith.